Of Cats and Engineers
by Shadowed Novice
Summary: With a twist of fate, an old soul is given a second chance to change the world for the better; to live freely. A chance previously prevented by an early demise... May continue, may not.


The ghosts and spirits among Godric's Hollow were restless that Halloween night. The full moon was barely visible in the sky as the clouds passed over the sleepy town. 1981 hadn't been a good year. The Dark Lord's reign had been hard on them all, with no relief in sight. It was only a matter of time until he won.

Lily Potter held her young son in her arms, gently swaying as she lulled him to sleep. Harry was such a good boy. He'd never given her any trouble. He was an angel. His father, though… Well, she'd rather not dwell on that. The memory of Harry turning her husbands hair a violent electric blue still caused her to giggle.

Her husband, James, paced a path in the living room, in front of the fireplace. The news Dumbledore had given them was anything but reassuring. A prophesy? How could their son be the one to stop the dark lord? It could be any other child born at the end of July, and yet the old man had 'happened' to decide that it was to be their Harry? Something about this seemed oh-so-very wrong. Even the fidelus charm over their home wasn't enough to quiet their anxiety.

As Lily started up the stairs to put her son to bed, both she and her husband felt the wards over their home flicker dangerously. The lights flashed, and the temperature dropped. He was coming. Voldemort was coming. James ran to his wife and kissed her for what would more than likely be the last time, then pushed her just the slightest bit farther up the stairs.

"Take Harry and run."He told her calmly, which was a feat in itself, because he was anything but calm.

"But James..!"Lily tried, tears sliding down her cheeks.

"Lily, I love you more than life itself. If my death ensures that you live to see our son grow up proud and strong, so be it."James said softly, then grinned his marauder grin, "Do me a favor and give Snape my apologies for our less than friendly school years. I was a jealous prat and he did nothing to deserve that kind of torment."

"...Alright. I'll tell him. I love you too, James."Lily was about to say more when the wards flickered out completely.

"Go now!"James shouted, gripping his wand tightly as Lily cast him a sorrowful glance before fleeing up the rest of the stairs and into her son's room.

"May god have mercy on our souls..."He whispered as the insane cackle of Lord Voldemort slowly filtered into his ears.

Lily slammed the door to her son's room, sealing it behind her. She placed him in the crib and knelt down so she was eye level with him, slipping a hand through the bars and stroking through his ebony locks. The sudden influx of dark magic entering the house had woken Harry, but he did little more than stare up at his mother in curiosity. His mother smiled at him sadly.

"Mama loves you, Harry. You are loved."She whispered gently to him.

"Mama..?"Harry tried. Lily's sad smile turned happy, then bittersweet at the irony of her son saying his first word right as the dark lord invaded their home.

The door was blasted open before Lily could say anything else. There, in all of his serpentine glory, was Lord Voldemort. The man who had made their lives hell all across Britain for the better part of five years. He raised his wand toward the young mother as she stood before him, blocking his view of her son.

"Stand aside, girl."He ordered, feeling merciful.

"Please, not my baby! Not my Harry!"She begged.

"Stand aside."

"Please! Not my only child! Take me instead!"The tears began to stream down her face again. The dark lord stared at her impassively for a second, before making a decision.

"So be it."He hissed, "Animo confringitis."

A cold blue spell flew from his wand and struck Lily. She collapsed into a boneless heap, unconscious. His small act of mercy aside, he turned to the child in the crib.

"Now for you. Avada Kedavera!" The malicious green light erupted from his wand, the deadly magic eager to do the bidding of it's master. As the sickly green reared upon it's target, it stopped, almost as if considering who and or what it was about to strike. This child had a destiny yet. It was not yet his time.

As suddenly as the spell had been cast, it disappeared, leaving in its place a pale, seemingly gentle green that spread out over the area, burning Voldemort's body to ash and surrounding young Harry in it's warmth.

Now, for a fifteen month old toddler, Harry James was smart. Lights, he thought, weren't supposed to have many ageless voices swirling amongst them, nor were they supposed to be warm and comfortable. But oddly, it didn't feel strange. Something deep inside of him knew this light; almost as if it were an old friend.

Something inside the child's soul seemed to sing to life, awakening what would once again become known as one of magic's greatest minds.

The pale green energy lulled young Harry to sleep, and as it began to disappear, the very remnants of Voldemort's tainted magic fought back against being taken with it. A dark shade flew up and away from the opposing magic, phased through the sleeping toddler, up through the ceiling and into the night. A fragment of the evil magic latched onto Harry. Danger plainly still imminent, The remains of the green magic, what would later be rediscovered as the lifestream, followed the evil magic and surrounded it, encasing it until it was either assimilated with the lifestream or the child's own magic. The brief scuffle between energies left a small mark on Harry; a cut in the shape of a lightning bolt.

It wasn't until near dawn that young Harry was found alive. Upon discovering his love had been spared, Severus Snape whisked Lily away to St. Mungos, while Hagrid was left to bring Harry to Dumbledore. Despite one Minerva McGonagall's protests, Harry was left with his muggle relations, and over the next ten years, not once does the old man check up on the boy. Not once.

This was his first mistake in a long line of many.

 **A/N:** **I've had this on my computer for a while, sitting around incomplete. Let me know what you think and if you want me to continue it, ne?**


End file.
